Ugh, i know – isn’t it horrid?! : (

A lot of the posts really sum up why we set up Internocracy in the first place. Our tag-line is ‘lowering the barriers and raising the bar in internships’ and we recognise that to do this by working with young people and employers together to bring about sustainable change.

Although we hadn’t heard of the Internships Alliance until this story by Tanya, it is good to see that people are picking up on the issues we have been working hard on since 2007.

In particular, we’d be delighted to work with anyone willing to help us to promote our youth-led accreditation for internships (the ISIP Mark). So far we’ve got over a dozen organisations signed up since January this year including top4 accountancy and magic circle law firms, large charities and start-up social enterprises. All of the organisations we work with comply fully with the National Minimum Wage Act, as no one can get away from the fact that this law exists.

What unites us at Internocracy, the members of our Interns Network and our partner organisations accredited by Internocracy is a commitment to work together to resolve the issues around internships.

So thanks Tanya for bringing about this discussion, and for anyone interested in what we do please do get in touch with us on hello@internocracy.org if you’d like to find out more about how we help young people access internships and work with employers to create inspiring and engaging internships.

Dom from Intetnocracy

Which is a fallacy created by self-serving companies who only care about turnover, instead of executing a successful company vision, which in turns earns more money.

Did you know that NetFlix, the LoveFilm of the USA, have a policy of paying all employees the topline salary in each bracket? They make millions of pounds each year.

With my careers website, I am dedicated to growing the graduate careers of young people in PR and marketing. However, I want to see them all in jobs that pay them a fair wage for their professional work.

Kagem Tibaijuka
Founder of vox-popPRcareers

Thanks for your comment – however I’m not sure what you’ve written is entirely accurate and I wouldn’t want anyone to think that there was a ‘them’ versus ‘us’ thing developing between the intern pressure groups and the rest of us since, as you say, this would be counter-productive for us all!

I’m sure the pressure groups will correct me if I’m wrong (!) but i think the problem we here is that because they have been so clear on what they’re campaigning for (minimum wage for all interns, provided by the employers – with no room for any flexibility), there is now a concern that involving other organisations in the ‘fight’ could compromise the fight’s aims.

My feeling is that although there is a small risk that this might happen by opening the debate up to include as many different voices in this debate as possible (including those of business leaders) – the possibilities of what you might GAIN far outweigh this.

For example, perhaps employers might be prepared to agree to the minimum wage for all placements – but not holiday pay, which the TUC says you are entitled to legally. Would you be willing to accept this? That’s just a silly example but my point is that it all depends on whether you are prepared to even consider any kind of compromise.

I do feel strongly that if interns are asking businesses to see things from YOUR point of view, i think it would be a good look to make the effort to see things from THEIR point of view too. I agree with Robin that shouting about this will only get you so far. The debate needs to move on – and I think this is the direction it is moving in.

As Lucy says (and it seems you agree?), it doesn’t really matter WHO pushes to create change as long as it happens – and happens fast. And surely anything is better than the current situation?

It looks like there is a bit of a territorial battle going on here. Intern Aware, Interns Anonymous and Internocracy are getting a bit worried about losing their share of the internship market. What they have essentially done here (to put it in cat terms) is to piss all over the comments section with their competitive slur. An interesting insight into what they really care about, I think you will agree?

But you/these guys aren’t going to win this battle by continually playing the same card from one side of the table when the game has probably (for right or for wrong) moved next door. WEXO and all the other companies that we have spoken to (including Inspiring Interns) are doing what they can to engage employers to open their doors to graduate talent. And we are also trying to get (under)graduates paid as much as we can (be it short term or long term). WE ARE COMPANIES AND WE REPRESENT COMPANIES. BUT I THINK WE ALL BUY INTO STAKEHOLDER VALUE (RATHER THAN JUST SHAREHOLDER VALUE). YOU NEED COMPANIES AND WE’RE LISTENING TO YOU – DON’T WRITE US OFF QUITE YET!